Real estate news: Settlement affects 600 state residents

Nearly 600 Washington consumers will share in a $2.5 million multistate settlement with title insurer Fidelity National for providing kickbacks to Wells Fargo, state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said last week.

Refunds will range from $20 to $60.

According to the settlement, some Wells Fargo home-loan customers were directed to Fidelity National for title insurance, and Fidelity National passed a portion of their premiums to a reinsurance company owned by Wells Fargo.

Applications for mortgages fall

U.S. mortgage applications fell last week to the lowest level since April, as higher mortgage rates pushed down demand for homes and slowed refinancing.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's index of applications declined 4.8 percent to 646.7, the fifth decrease in six weeks, from 679.1.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage jumped to 6.21 percent, the highest since June of last year.

Real-estate equity turning into cash

U.S. homeowners will turn a record $204 billion of real-estate equity into cash this year by refinancing mortgages at higher balances to tap gains in rising property values, according to a report issued today by McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac.

Cash-out refinancings, in which homeowners borrow more money as the value of their property rises, will climb from $142 billion in 2004 and $146.9 billion in 2003, the report said.

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said homeowners typically use the money from cash-out refinancings to renovate houses, buy cars, pay for college tuition or reduce credit-card debt.

Compiled from Seattle Times staff and Bloomberg News